Judges 20:18-36

Judges 20:18-36

[18] And the children  of Israel  arose,  and went up  of God,  and asked  counsel of God,  and said,  Which  of us shall go up  first  to the battle  against the children  of Benjamin?  And the LORD  said,  Judah  shall go up first.  [19] And the children  of Israel  rose up  in the morning,  and encamped  against Gibeah.  [20] And the men  of Israel  went out  to battle  against Benjamin;  and the men  of Israel  put themselves in array  to fight  against them at Gibeah.  [21] And the children  of Benjamin  came forth  out of Gibeah,  and destroyed down  to the ground  of the Israelites  that day  twenty  and two  thousand  men.  [22] And the people  the men  of Israel  encouraged  themselves, and set their battle  again  in array  in the place  where they put themselves in array  the first  day.  [23] (And the children  of Israel  went up  and wept  before  the LORD  until even,  and asked  counsel of the LORD,  saying,  Shall I go up  again  to battle  against the children  of Benjamin  my brother?  And the LORD  said,  Go up  against him.) [24] And the children  of Israel  came near  against the children  of Benjamin  the second  day.  [25] And Benjamin  went forth  against  them out of Gibeah  the second  day,  and destroyed down  to the ground  of the children  of Israel  again eighteen  thousand  men;  all these drew  the sword.  [26] Then all the children  of Israel,  and all the people,  went up,  and came  and wept,  and sat  there before  the LORD,  and fasted  that day  until even,  and offered  burnt offerings  and peace offerings  before  the LORD.  [27] And the children  of Israel  enquired  of the LORD,  (for the ark  of the covenant  of God  was there in those days,  [28] And Phinehas,  the son  of Eleazar,  the son  of Aaron,  stood  before  it in those days,)  saying,  Shall I yet again  go out  to battle  against the children  of Benjamin  my brother,  or shall I cease?  And the LORD  said,  Go up;  for to morrow  I will deliver  them into thine hand.  [29] And Israel  set  liers in wait  round about  Gibeah.  [30] And the children  of Israel  went up  against the children  of Benjamin  on the third  day,  and put themselves in array  against Gibeah,  as at other times.  [31] And the children  of Benjamin  went out  against  the people,  and were drawn away  from the city;  and they began  to smite  of the people,  and kill,  as at other times,  in the highways,  of which one  goeth up  and the other  to Gibeah  in the field,  about thirty  men  of Israel.  [32] And the children  of Benjamin  said,  They are smitten down  before  us, as at the first.  But the children  of Israel  said,  Let us flee,  and draw  them from the city  unto the highways.  [33] And all the men  of Israel  rose up  out of their place,  and put themselves in array  at Baaltamar:  and the liers in wait  of Israel  came forth  out of their places,  even out of the meadows  [34] And there came  against  Gibeah  ten  thousand  men  out of all Israel,  and the battle  was sore:  but they knew  not that evil  was near  them. [35] And the LORD  smote  Benjamin  before  Israel:  and the children  of Israel  destroyed  that day  twenty  and five  thousand  and an hundred  men:  all these drew  the sword.  [36] So the children  of Benjamin  saw  that they were smitten:  for the men  of Israel  gave  place  because they trusted  unto the liers in wait  which they had set  beside Gibeah.